Prescription weight loss medication, also called appetite suppressants, are drugs that help people lose weight. The medications work by decreasing hunger or by making it easier to feel full. Prescription weight loss medications are typically used in people who are obese or overweight and have not been able to lose weight through diet and exercise alone. These medications can be used short-term or long-term, depending on the individual’s needs.

Why is it so hard to keep weight off?

Losing weight is hard. Keeping that weight off is even harder.

There are a number of reasons why it’s so tough to keep the weight off. When you do manage to lose weight, because of changes in hormone levels, your body may try to gain this weight back by making you feel hungrier. In addition, in order to conserve energy, your body starts to burn calories more slowly. So, even if you’re eating the same amount of food as you were before you lost weight, you’re actually burning fewer calories. This is known as starvation mode. However, although this phenomenon is very real, whether it’s so powerful that it can prevent you from losing weight — or even cause you to gain weight despite continued calorie restriction — is not as clear, so don’t despair.

Another reason it’s hard to keep the weight off is because losing weight often leads to muscle loss. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, so when you lose muscle mass, your metabolism slows down and it becomes harder to lose additional weight or even maintain your current weight.

The weight loss journey is never a straight path, there is always a series of up and downs and plateaus, making the journey difficult but there are things you can do to mitigate this. Lifting weights and keeping protein intake high are two evidence-based ways to reduce muscle loss and metabolic slowdown during weight loss. Taking a break from your diet on occasion might also help.

Losing just 5% of your weight, and keeping it off, may greatly improve weight-related complications, such as diabetes and hypertension. It’ll also mean that you get to enjoy everyday activities more.

The different types of prescription weight loss medication

If you’re looking to lose weight, you may consider turning to prescription weight loss medication. These pills can help you lose weight by suppressing your appetite, increasing your metabolism, or preventing your body from absorbing fat. However, it’s important to remember that these pills to lose weight are not a magic bullet—they require diet and exercise to be effective. And, as with all medications, there are potential side effects to consider. porn video Wren Marie

There are many different types of weight loss medication available by prescription. These include appetite suppressants, fat blockers, and medication that targets a specific area such as the stomach or intestines.

Appetite suppressants work by reducing hunger and increasing feelings of fullness. Fat blockers prevent the absorption of fat from the diet. Medication that targets a specific area may help to reduce the amount of food absorbed or increase feelings of fullness.

There are many different weight loss drugs available in the market and it is essential that you only receive advice from someone who is legally able to prescribe the drugs and who has experience of using them for weight loss.

At Medical WeightLoss 4U, we only prescribe the appetite suppressant form of weight loss drugs. The appetite suppressant weight loss drugs we use come in 3 different formats: daily tablets, weekly injections or daily injections. The choice of product is not really important as long as they are effective. We only use products that have been proven to be effective.

Specifically, the drugs we prescribe are:

• Ozempic WEEKLY injection pens
• Rybelsus DAILY tablets
• Saxenda DAILY injection pens

Ozempic and Rybelsus are the same underlying drug called Semaglutide. They are just different formats. Wegovy is also a version of Semaglutide which is soon to be available in the UK. This will be licensed for weight loss and will replace Ozempic. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is another medication that will be available in the UK very soon which like semaglutide is licensed for diabetes but may be used off-licence for weight loss.

Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, which means it mimics the action of a hormone called GLP-1.

When used in conjunction with a healthy balanced diet and the right amount of exercise, they should help you lose weight.

How prescription weight loss medication works

All the weight loss plans we provide act in a similar way this is by:

• slowing down gastric emptying so when you eat it takes longer for your stomach to empty and therefore longer to feel hungry again,
• increasing the length of time the satiety (feeling full) hormone leptin hangs around so again, makes you feel full longer
• decreasing the levels of the “hungry” hormone ghrelin (think gremlin!). Interestingly ghrelin is increased when you don’t get enough sleep.

The appetite suppressant drugs are clinically proven to help with weight loss. They are also safe when taken as recommended.

For a successful weight loss, you should also follow an appropriate diet and exercise. The appetite suppressants can be taken in conjunction with diet and exercise.

Who can use weight loss drugs?

Weight loss drugs should be prescribed only by a qualified physician or pharmacist. If they think you can benefit from weight loss pills, they will prescribe one of the available drugs appropriately.

These appetite suppressant drugs are only available to adults aged between 18 and 75 and above who have

• BMI of 30 or greater (now known as obesity class 1 rising to class 3) or
• BMI of 27 and less than 30 (overweight) with weight-related health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal levels of fats in the blood or breathing problems during sleep called `obstructive sleep apnoea’.

The use of appetite suppressant weight loss drugs is not recommended:

• if you have severe heart failure
• if you have kidney disease or are on dialysis
• if you have liver problems
• if you have or have had a disease of the pancreas
• if you have severe stomach or gut related problems
• if you have an eating disorder
• if you have a healthy weight — BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m.
• if you have had, or have a family history of, a rare form of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndrome type II.

Any of the weight loss medication we prescribe will only be prescribed following a consultation to assess your suitability.

Is weight loss medication safe?

At this time, several of the drugs we use are not yet fully licensed for weight loss and are prescribed “off label”. This does not mean it is unsafe for use but that it is being used for a different condition to the way they were originally intended by the manufacturer.

Rest assured, these are very safe drugs with few interactions with other medicines or medical conditions. You will be fully assessed before the drug is prescribed.

The benefits of taking prescription weight loss medication

On a positive note, these medications have been shown to decrease the risk of a heart attack or stroke in diabetic patients. The good thing is they only decrease your blood sugar if it is high. So if you have normal blood sugar, they won’t do anything.

The biggest benefit of using these medications is that they help you to control your appetite, making you feel fuller for longer.

What are the side effects?

The drugs we prescribe do have potential side effects, although these are very rarely reported and most patients experience no side effects whatsoever.

Very common (equal or more than 1 in 10 people):

• Feeling sick (nausea)
• Diarrhoea
• Constipation

These side effects this usually goes away over time but can cause dehydration (loss of fluids). It is important that you drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. This is especially important if you have kidney problems.

Common (less than 1 in 10 to 1 in 100 people):

• Being sick (vomiting)
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) – when this medicine is used with another anti-diabetic medicine and/or insulin
• Complications of diabetic eye disease (retinopathy) – you should inform your doctor if you experience eye problems, such as changes in vision, during treatment with this medicine
• Headache – this usually goes away over time

Other common side effects include indigestion, stomach discomfort, dry mouth, feeling weak or tired, changed sense of taste, difficulty sleeping, injection site reactions (such as bruising, pain, irritation, itching and rash), low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia).

Uncommon (less than 1 in 100 to 1 in 1000 people):

• Increased heart rate

Rare (less than 1 in 10,000 people):

• Severe allergic reactions (anaphylactic reactions) – you should seek immediate medical help and inform your doctor straight away if you get symptoms such as breathing problems, swelling of the face and throat and a fast heartbeat
• Pancreatitis – if you have ever had this then you are usually not a suitable candidate for our plan. Pancreatitis has also been linked with very fast weight loss so weight loss should ideally be fairly slow but consistent.
• In rodents, GLP-1 drugs caused a rare from of thyroid cancer but it is unknown whether this occurs in humans. If you are taking these medications alway tell your health care provider if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, or shortness of breath.

This is not a full list, and some drugs may have different side effects for you. So please refer to the Patient Information Leaflet for the full list of side effects.

Conclusion:

Don’t worry about the people who tell you that this diet won’t work, or that you will regain all of the weight as soon as you stop. The best way to lose weight is to find a weight loss plan that works for you, and that includes finding help that does not rely on will power alone. If you would like to try one of our appetite suppressant medications, then please first fill in our Consultation Form to see if you are suitable.